Carnival

A Concert w/ Present Music and Cory SmytheTheatrical Accompaniment by Brian Rott

​Costumes. Disguises. What will you bring to the table? Dress as your alter ego and play with colorful characters for an evening of masqueraded revelry and pageantry.Allow your senses to be ravished by the sumptuous performance of Present Music ensemble member and 2015 Grammy award winning pianist Cory Smythe performing the music of Robert Schumann and Sciarrino, along with his own original pieces and improvisations.

This collaboration deconstructs bombastic characters from the Commedia Dell'Arte, and Schumann's composition, to find the lines that tether opposites: embellishment and reduction, movement and stillness, silence and sound.

﻿Program-Carnaval by Robert Schumann-Perduto una citta d'acque & Due Notturni No.s 1 and 2 by Salvatore Sciarrino-original interpolations and improvisations by Cory Smythe-Theatrical Accompaniment by Quasimondo

"Quasimondo's performance was both fascinating and entertaining. The idea of the theatrical vignettes was well suited to the musical vignettes that make up the Schumann."elaine schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

﻿"Quasimondo Physical Theatre appeared as the stock character types with Smythe in some pieces, telling stories in movement... strangely engrossing at times, sometimes bewildering...To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I thought about their work and how it fit into the concert, but a day later I’m still thinking about it."Rick Walters, Shepherd express